Bristol’s a strange city... its live scene is simmering with musical talent, but the rest of the nation seems deaf to such West Country charms. Put simply, it’s about bloody time that a new band spilled over from Bristol’s bustling scene and onto the UK playlists. Resurrecting Portishead and wheeling out Massive Attack every now and again may still pull a crowd, but hardly makes for a bright sonic future.

The Croft is a strange venue, sometimes a goth-pit or a den of drum and base, sometimes frequented by just one man and his dog - you’re never really sure what to expect. Recently we’ve even seen The Croft ‘tasting the rainbow’.

Tonight, however, the emo-count is low, and the audience is high as we’re promised jazz funk fusions, acoustic hip-hop and a line-up fighting to break out of Bristol.

Clayton Blizzard is something of a cult figure round these parts. A humorous hip-hopping flamenco kid, he shuffles onto stage, one man, one guitar and a song-artillery to floor the room. Sod BBC satire, Clayton Blizzard’s got news for us. Singing protest songs for those that can’t stand the blighters, and referencing licks and lines from the worlds least loved and most adored tracks, it’s globally applicable and yet so very BRISTLE. Caught between laughter and tears we lament the end of the set. The labels should come begging to pimp his soapbox.

Oh and if you don’t believe REALBristol... "He speaks the truth with a dose of reality. This is what music should be about: fusion is the future. Black meets white, genre meets genre, folk and phat, inspiring and pure genius." The Fly
Ruckus Collective hit the stage hard. Funk driven tunes shake the room and froth the pints of the packed crowd. Ordinarily we’d heckle at such an inconvenience; instead we appeared to be dancing, and manically. Currently giving Let’s Tea Party a darn good run for their money, the Ruckus crew are a huge ensemble of energetic musicians with the rhythmic spice of the Chilli Peppers and the fizz of Ozomatli. It’s funk, jazz, ska. It’s hip-hop with saxophones, and judging by tonight’s performance it’s got upward momentum.

Bizali round off the night in spectacular style. Complete with infectious rhythms, tunes by the wheelbarrow and a sassy frontwoman to kick Sophie Ellis Bextor’s ass... ok so it’s already been kicked, but we like blood sports and it sounds like a Queenshilling special.

Whatever, Bizali mean business, and they’re back with new tracks. Catchy, and eccentric they’re like Moloko in hyperdrive. It’s funk infused soul, with a mean drummer, powerful vocals, props and an innovative spin of electro. ‘The Ballad of Josh and James’, crowd favourite ‘Uh Huh’ and ‘Round Three’ stand out by a nose, but the whole set blows us away. Sweat drenched and smiling the night ends with a stitch.

All acts have buzzing summers ahead, check out their MySpace sites for your next chance to catch them live.

www.myspace.com/claytonblizzard
www.myspace.com/rukuscollective
www.myspace.com/Bizali

...and for details of future top gigs check out:
www.myspace.com/factfans